Skyline
by TheMenace3117
Summary: In later years Tails, Cream and Espio leave their respective teams and go off by themselves. The three hold a strong dislike for each other but when they run into trouble, they must band together to get through it. This is how team Skyline is formed. Violence, strong language included.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I have a bit of writer's block in the case of a few stories I'm still writing so I decided to start this one. It sort of came to me after watching TV and I thought the characters would suit it. If you enjoy the story, please hit that review button!**

**Chapter 1: How it all starts **

A few years pass after the events in Sonic heroes, and everyone has all matured, well except the Chaotix. But the older they get, the more their attitudes change as well and tensions get high. Knuckles was the first to leave, then Team Dark disbanded next. But it would be the next three who walk away that change the game completely. This is the story of how and why...

Everyone knew the day would come when Espio would get sick and tired of Vector and Charmy's antics and he would take off. And when he did, no one had a clue where he went. Where he did go was far away, to the other side of the planet. This gave him time to practice his martial arts but another hobby had consumed him: Alcohol. The Chameleon's answer to everything was always at the bottom of every bottle.

It was a shock to everyone when the cute, innocent rabbit Cream snapped on Amy and her own mother. From then on the rabbit's attitude, and fashion choice, changed. She became more vocal about what was on her mind, no matter how rude or mean it sounded. She dressed in all black and red clothes and even started wearing black lipstick. One day she got very vocal with Tails after he asked her out.

"You know what, Tails? Piss off, I don't want to hear what you have to say. All these years you've made the excuse that I was 'too young' for you, but now that I'm different all of a sudden you want to date me? screw you, Miles Prower! I don't ever want to see you again!"

Tails stood in shock. The Rabbit stormed off back to her house and the Fox sat on a park bench. As if his day couldn't get any worse, a thunder storm started up and drenched him. Tails started his walk home, soaked head to toe. But this wasn't the only thing in his life that was eating at him. Over the course of the past 3 months he along with Sonic battled the Chaotix over reasons only Vector and Charmy knew about. But then this issue became personal after Sonic refused to play their game and he and Tails' manhood were challenged.

Espio especially liked to pick on Tails while Vector and Charmy did the talking to and about Sonic. At the time Tails couldn't fight to save his life so every time he and the Chameleon got into it, Espio would win. With no help from Sonic whatsoever, Tails stuck by himself for awhile. But soon this "war" with the Chaotix reached another level. The Chaotix had destroyed Tails newest and most expensive project ever: The Stealth Tornado. Tails couldn't sit back and take this.

The next few months Tails anger level rose quickly and soon little things would set him off. The only thing that would settle him down was his affection for Cream. Tails set aside his anger in hopes he could go out with Cream. But after the incident with her, his dreams were smashed. On his way back home Tails was hit with stink bombs, two cans of maple syrup and chicken feathers. Vector and Charmy laughed and took pictures of Tails, but the Fox just kept walking. He didn't care about anything at this point, he only wanted to be alone.

The final part of Vector's plan was to get Espio to spray paint a giant "C" on the back of Tails head but The Chameleon stop. He saw how miserable Tails was and he aborted the prank. He headed back to headquarters but Vector stopped him.

"What happened?!" The Croc asked, angry at this change of heart.

"Maybe we should leave the kid alone now, look at him. I think we got our message across" said Espio

"Man, don't go soft on me now! We almost have this thing won! Don't you want to humiliate those two?" Asks Vector

"Not anymore. I'm done with this, everything" Espio says

Just before Espio can leave, Vector grabs him by the arm and stops him in the middle of the street.

"You're gonna finish this and that's an order" said Vector

"Yeah? The hell with your orders. I'm out" Espio says, pulling away from the Croc and walking away.

"You walk away and you're off the team!" Vector warns

The Chameleon stops

"Like I said, I'm out. goodbye, guys"

Tails gets back to Sonics' to clean up and get some rest. He walks by the kitchen where Sonic is and the hedgehog laughs at the sight of his friend.

"Dude, you look like a mentally ill chicken! Haha!" said Sonic

"Thanks. Really boosts my confidence" Tails replies

"So how'd it go with Cream?" Sonic asks

"How do you think? Rejected. Hand me the soap.." said Tails

"What's the magic word?" Sonic asks, grinning

"Really, just give me the damn soap, Sonic!" Tails yells

"Whoa, you better watch that attitude, boy" Sonic replies, throwing the soap to Tails

"well if you had a crap day like I did, you would say the same. You'd probably act worse cause you're like a little kid.." said Tails, washing the syrup off this arms.

"You wanna get into this? Alright then, fine. Lets see, I pay rent, I pay for your supplies, I feed you, I…"

Sonic and Tails began to argue loudly, getting the attention of every other house on the street and other streets. Soon, they were throwing things around the house and that's when Amy decided to step in. she raced over to the house and came in to watch the fight.

"GUYS, STOP!" Amy yells

Tails trades punches with Sonic, but is over powered so he grapples him and the two smash into everything in the house. Sonic and Tails wrestle for control, and punch as much as they can. Amy calls Big to come over and help separate the two. The Cat runs in and pulls the two apart, but Tails gets loose and clocks Sonic again, starting round two. Sonic shoves Big out of the way and kicks Tails hard in the head, knocking him down. Sonic stops and his eyes go wide when he sees blood come pouring out of Tails' forehead.

"Crap, Tails… I-I didn't mean to-"

Amy helps Tails to his feet and he gives Sonic a dirty look. He walks to his room and starts packing a back pack. Amy tries to talk to him, but he says nothing. Finally just before he can leave, Amy stops Tails in the doorway.

"Tails, don't do this! You don't have anywhere to go.. just-just stay here.." said Amy

Tails looks over at Sonic, who is sitting at his dining room table staring at the pool of blood. Tails looks back at Amy and walks out. Ironically, during the fight with Sonic, Cream also had a bad fight with her mom Vanilla. The little Rabbit had already bought a ticket for a train out of Station Square and had just made it to her 8:45 train.

Tails walked out of town, taking a small picture of him and Sonic out of his wallet and tearing it in half. He followed the highway to as far away from ton as he could get. When his legs got tire, Tails flew down the stretch of highway.

Espio didn't hesitate to leave after his final words to Vector. He didn't need a bag of clothes because he could easily steal some new ones if he wanted. But all he wanted was peace from everything, so to the mountains he went. but you can't get there without some directions. The Chameleon walks into a bar to ask where to go to get to the mountains. After the bartender told him, he offered Espio a free first drink. Then the bottle became part of Espio after that.

With the exits of three "Side kicks" from team Sonic, Rose and Chaotix, everyone back home was never the same. Sonic knew he wouldn't be seeing Tails anytime soon and he also knew Tails wasn't out with Cream or Espio because they each disliked each other. But that wasn't entirely true in this case. Should The Fox, Rabbit and Chameleon meet again, they may still hold the hate, or they might band together.

**I don't know, should I continue this one? Only way I can be sure to is if you guys Review. If you like it, go ahead and hit that button and let me know! But I cant guarantee I'll update frequently but I'll try. If no one likes it or wants me to continue it then I'll just scrap it. until then, peace!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Two Gates

Espio leaves Station Square on foot, drifting in and out of numerous cities and zones. He makes it to one last city; a large, neon lit city called Two Gates. The Chameleon wonders through the bright city and looks for a place to ask directions to the high mountains he's been wanting to go to for years now. Elsewhere, a train speeds down the rails in the country side late that night and Cream sits by herself next to the window.

"How much longer is this ride gonna be? I've been sitting on here for hours now.." The Rabbit thinks to herself. A few teenage hedgehogs and rabbits walk from one train car to this one and they all take long looks at Cream as they pass by "Great, I'm sure these guys are looking at me for a reason.."

"Damn, baby!" a Rabbit says as he walks down the aisle of seats

Cream spits on the floor, sticks up her middle finger and looks out the window again.

Tails walks through the rainy night with his large gym bag over his shoulder. The fox wonders if running away in this weather was the best idea. He shugs and keeps walking, listening to his iPod. After an hour of walking an only making it to the city limits, Tails stops for a break at what looks like an abandoned house.

"I would do anything if there was a bike or something around here, my legs are killing me.." Tails thought to himself.

He walks around the side of the old house and sees a large wooden garage and the doors are wide open. The fox runs in and drops his bag on the ground. He takes a seat on a rusty metal table and lays down. he pulls out his iPod and out of the corner of his eye he spots a small bicycle. He looks at his and goes towards it.

"I'll be damned…"

Tails puts his iPod away and pushes the bike a few feet, but this bike is old so it squeals loud and Tails drops the bike. Within a second lights from a house across the street go on and a man starts to shout.

"Delmar! Somebody's in your damn garage!" the man yells

"What? Don't just sit there, shoot that rat bastard, Smokey!" another old man yells

"Gotta split!" Tails says.

Tails picks up the bike, jumps on and swipes his bag off the ground as he quickly rides out of the garage. A looks across the street and sees the first old man come out of his house with a rifle.

"Shit!" Tails yells, pedaling faster on the grass.

Bullets wiz past him, and Tails' heart beats faster. He has to make it to the road or he's done. Just as he gets onto the road, a bullet hits his bike frame, making a loud clang sound. Once on concrete, Tails races down the street and the old man can't see him because there's no more street lights.

"I'll get you, boy!" The old man shouts

"Sorry!" Tails yells from far away, barely being heard.

After a few miles of continuous biking, Tails decides he better see what the old man shot on his stolen bike. He brakes but only his front tire brake works so he flips over the handle bars and into a large puddle. Tails is slow to get up but when he does, his iPod flies out of the pocket of his jacket and into the water as well. Tails takes off his soaking wet jacket and throws it on a barbwire fence.

Something glowing catches his attention so he flies over the fence and picks up a wooden board covering whatever is glowing. His face lights up as he picks up the chaos emerald.

"Better keep this safe.." Tails thinks

The fox flies back over the fence and puts the emerald in his bag, then walks down the street. He sees a small 24 hour convenience store so he goes in. A trail of water follows Tails as he walks through the store.

"Hey, buddy do you need a towel?" the Cashier asks

"No, I just need something to drink.." Tails says

Next stop: Two Gates city

Cream decides to get off at this stop just to get away from the band of idiots that have been whistling at her since they got on. When she gets of the train, the same rabbit kid follows her. His buddies stay on the train and laugh as they look out the window. The kid goes up to Cream and grabs her by the shoulder.

"Hey baby, I know you heard me talking to you!" The kid yells

Cream turns around, pushes his arm off her shoulder and swings her back pack at him. he backs up, then tries to run at her, but Cream has something else for him. she opens up her back pack and her Chao, Cheese jumps out and kicks the kids' teeth in.

"Nice try, pal" Cream says as she walks away.

The kid lies on the ground with blood coming from his mouth and his buddies laugh harder on the train. Meanwhile, Espio walks through the downtown area and he gets into a local bar. He sits in a chair and the bar tender walks up to him.

"What'll it be, stranger?" The bar tender asks

"I was actually looking for directions to the mountains.." Espio answers

"Oh, there not too far up north from here. But before you leave, why don't you have a drink? Just to fuel you up for the walk?"

"I don't usually drink, sorry guy…" Espio gets up and goes for the door

"Come on, man. Tell you what, first drink is on me"

Espio thinks about this, then sits back down in his seat. He guzzles down his first jug of beer, then says yes to the next. And then another. And another. Soon he drinks close to a hundred dollars worth of booze. When the bar tender asks for him to pay up, Espio nods and turns to the guy next to him. He slips his hand into the guys jacket and takes out his wallet. Espio counts up a few dollar bills and slaps them down on the counter and quickly leaves. Shouts come from the guy he just stole from but The Chameleon is gone by the time he gets out of the bar.

Tails pulls out his wallet and sees he only has 20 bucks on him, so he's limited to what he can buy. He sees a couple hats for sale hanging on the back wall behind the counter and one hat stands out to him.

"Hey man, how much for the beanies?" Tails points up to the hats

"10 bucks" The cashier answers

"Oh. Dude, will you do 5?"

"Sorry, I can't go that low on price"

"Come on man, I just rejected by this girl I like and 5 minutes ago I just got robbed. Please man?"

The cashier looks towards the back of the store, then back at Tails "alright, 5 bucks but you gotta go after that"

"Thanks man, really appreciate this"

Tails buys his hat and leaves the store. He goes over to his messed up bike and gym bag. He pulls his iPod out of his bag and tries on the beanie. It covers his whole head and leaves his hair and one ear hanging out from the top. He uses his iPod to see how it looks and grins.

"Not too bad, I say" Tails thinks.

Tails jumps on his bike and rides down a long street that goes past a few small cities and by morning he stops again. Casinopolis. Tails sits at a bus stop and finds a newspaper from the day before.

"Wonder if they have job openings"

Tails looks for a job around town, than he closes his eyes and passes out for the rest of the day.

Cream walks into a local shelter and stays in a small room until whenever she decides to leave. She pulls out a picture of her mother and her smiling and hugging. A tear drops from down her cheek, but cheese wipes it away and the two fall asleep.

Over the course of 2 months, Espio periodically goes to all the bars around Two Gates and drinks his nights away. Cream goes site seeing all over town and Tails finds part time employment. He works in a warehouse doing paper work and unloading packages from trucks. It isn't long before the warehouse gets sold and all the workers get laid off. Just before he leaves, Tails is stopped by his former boss and they talk.

"Listen kid, I have a cousin over in Two Gates who owns a warehouse. I'll be heading over there so if you want more work, you should get there too" The boss says, handing Tails a business card.

"Thanks Vince. I'll meet you there" Tails replies.

"I'll tell my cousin you're coming"

Tails and his old boss shake hands and they go their separate ways. Tails grabs his bag from an old locker he was using and puts on his hat. He goes outside and unlocks the chain to his new bike he bought with the money he earned makes his way to Two Gates through the highway. He gets there by night and sees the city all lit up and takes a few pictures on his iPod.

"I guess this is my new home" Tails rests his bike against a tree and counts his last pay he got from work. $245. He puts his wallet in his pocket and goes to ride his bike, but then he hears a girl scream.

He looks around and then she screams again but she's far away from Tails. He throws his chain around his bike and the tree and then flies into the sky. He soars above the city to look for the girl and he spots a familiar face: Cream.

"What is she doing here?!" Tails says "She-She can handle herself.."

A group of hedgehogs circle the Rabbit and she screams louder.

"Damnit, Cream…"

Tails flies towards them, ready to fight off the thugs.

**Sorry if the chapter is a bit short, I'll make the next few longer. Reviews are appreciated. Chapter 3 coming soon! **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: New Start

It starts to rain late that night when Cream gets pulled into an alley and 5 bandana wearing gang members hold her up against a wall, each wielding switchblades. The rabbit screams as loud as she can but the leader puts his hand over her mouth.

"Shut up. ain't no one gonna save you tonight, baby. Don't fight me.." The leader calmly says.

Cheese jumps out of Creams back pack and bites the leaders hand, making him go back and grunt in pain. Cream gets enough space to run but she is grabbed by her ears by another gang member. The leader grabs Cheese and holds him still.

"What the hell? Argh, Damnit girl!"

The leader of the gang grabs Creams back pack off her and hands it to one of his members. He then grabs Cream by the throat and pushes her against a wall.

"Come on, boss. We've got her bag, you don't need to do this.." Another gang member says, putting his hand on the leaders' shoulder

"Shut up and stay in line" the leader pushes him back

"Man, I ain't gonna be apart of this horse shit.."

The leader lets go of Cream and then grabs this gang member by his sweater.

"You're gonna stay here and watch…if you know what's good for you, Marcus!"

Just before this argument can go any further, a mysterious figure pops up above the gang and crashes down on one gang member. "Marcus" takes off, leaving the rest of his gang to fight this guy. Cream quickly grabs her back pack and Cheese, then runs away but before she can leaves, she decides to get a look at who this guy is. She sees a Fox wearing a Black coat and a Beanie with light orange fur fighting the gang, avoiding knife slashes from every direction.

"Is that..? no, don't tell me it is.." Cream says to herself, hiding behind a wall and looking in the alley.

As soon as Tails is punched in the head and his beanie flies off, Cream confirms it is The Fox from Station Square. This infuriates Cream as she thinks he followed her all the way from her old home to Two Gates. She watches as Tails tries to fight off the gang but there are too many and they are armed with knives. The leader grabs Tails and rams him into a wall, stunning him. The three gang members pile on the fox and start to beat him down. The leader puts his knife up for the final cut but he is thrown away from the brawl. Cream looks over to see the gang members go flying around the alley. Just then Espio appears standing over Tails.

"Espio?!" Cream shouts while she runs over

The Chameleon extends his hand to Tails to help him up but the fox gets up by himself and stares into his eyes angrily.

"And you, what the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again!" Cream yells in Tails face.

Tails pays her no attention and looks while Espio picks up his beanie from the wet ground and hands it to the fox. Tails rips it from Espio's hands and keeps eye contact with the Chameleon.

"Hello? I'm talking to you, Miles Prower!" Cream yells again

Tails says nothing, all he does is make a fist and stares at Espio, ready to fight. The Chameleon pulls out a shuriken from a small pouch. He throws it, missing Tails' face by inches and hitting the leader of the gang behind the fox. Espio stumbles back, leaning against a wall with blood running down it from a gang members head bouncing off. Tails sniffs around for a few seconds and looks at Espio.

"Are you drunk?" The Fox asks

"Possibly"

"Tails!" Cream yells, getting the fox's attention.

"Yes?" Tails says with a grin, wiping dirt off his beanie.

"Why did you bother following me?"

"I didn't. I left home a few months back and since then have found work. It just so happens I wound up here" Tails answers, then looks at Espio "Your turn, how'd you get here?"

Police sirens ring out in the city and get closer to the group. Tails puts his beanie on his head and goes to leave but he is stopped by Cream.

"Wait up.." The Rabbit looks at Espio "Thank you for the save… I know a place you two could go for shelter, if you want"

Tails looks at the Rabbit and Espio gulps down another drink of his large bottle.

"I could pass out anywhere right about now" The Chameleon responds

"I guess I could go" Tails says

The three take off down the dark alleys and the cops show up a second later to the bloody mess and bodies. They arrest the gang members and surround the entire block, looking for any others. Cream leads the guys to an old, burnt up abandoned shoe making factory. She climbs into a small window that leads to the bottom floor and Tails and Espio follow her. Tails uses the light from his iPod to guide the group, and they find a few old chairs to sit on.

Tails looks at Cream "Nice place"

"Shut up"

The fox laughs, then takes off his jacket, revealing a large cut and blood on his forearm.

"Tails, you're bleeding!" Cream yells

"Huh? Oh, that. They must've got me when I wasn't looking"

"Are you okay?" The Rabbit pulls out some tissues from her back pack and puts them on Tails' arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Tails glances over at Espio 'You didn't answer my question, ninja"

Espio looks up at The Fox

"What made you stop by in this city?"

"I don't exactly remember, but I do know it ended up in a bar somewhere downtown and since then, been sipping these things" Espio responds

"Very inspiring tale, monk. Or did you graduate to that level yet?" Tails asks sarcastically

"Tails, stop. He saved both our asses back there" Cream says

"Doesn't mean I have to let go of what he did before" The Fox responds

"Hey, I stopped out of pity for you, fox" Espio says

"Oh don't give me that shit.." Tails retorts

"SHUT UP!" Cream shouts, making Tails and Espio go quiet "Why can't you two just drop it? jesus.."

"She's right, Fox" Espio says

"Yeah, whatever" Tails responds

Cream and Cheese walk through the old factory and find a spot away from Tails and Espio. it was getting late so they decided to get some rest. Tails puts his headphones in and falls asleep on a table. Espio opens up another bottle and keeps drinking until he can't stay awake. He watches over the two and spends the night thinking to himself.

After a few hours, the sun starts to go up and Espio goes outside and practices a few fighting moves. Cream wakes up around 7 am and goes outside. She talks to Espio and sits on a small patch of grass. Tails wakes up and sees the two talking, so he tries to ignore them. The Fox remembers he left his bike unlocked and his bag next to it so he takes off to get it.

"Where are you going?" Cream yells to him.

"Don't worry about it" Tails answer

"Are you ditching us?"

"I'll come back later…"

Tails flies off into the sky and looks for the spot he left his stuff at. Near a tree and a ghetto part of town. He sees what looks like his bag and he lands a few feet from it. Tails sees his bike is gone but his bag is still here. He opens it and finds the Green Chaos emerald is still inside.

"Wow, you would think I would take care of this thing better.." Tails says, picking up his back pack and putting it on. He checks the time on his iPod. 9:04 am

Tails makes his way back to the factory while Cream and Espio continue to talk. Espio tells her his side of what happened between him and Tails while Cream tells him what happened with her and the fox. Then, Tails himself flies over a razor wire fence and meets with the two.

"Tails, can we talk.. all of us?" Cream asks

Tails nods his head and the three enter the factory again. They sit in their chairs and wait for a few minutes.

"So, what has everybody been up to, lately?" Tails asks

"Nothing special, just looking for a place to settle down. having a few beers here and there.." Espio answers

"Well, I managed to find this guy" Tails says as he opens his bag. He pulls out the green Chaos emerald. Cream and Espio look at him with blank looks on there faces.

"You could only find one?" Cream asks

"What? Is that a bad thing?"

The Rabbit pulls out a red and a yellow emerald from her back pack. Espio takes a sip from his bottle and fishes out three more emeralds from a small bag.

"You know what… whatever, that's cool" Tails says, putting his emerald away

"Wait" Cream says "If we have 6 emeralds, that means we only need one more and.. and.."

"And we could get some new powers from them" Espio finishes her statement

'Yeah. I wouldn't know because I never held all 7 at one time" Cream says

"So you're saying we stick together and find the last one?" Tails asks

"Yeah, why not? We could find that last one and maybe stop creeps like the guys from last night" Cream answers

"I don't k now about that. I got offered work and I kinda need the money" The Fox points out "Also I just don't like him"

"I feel the same way" Espio says

"Look, I know you two have you problems, So do I but this could be our new start. Can we just put our problems behind us stick together? What if Eggman or any other bad guy goes around and starts their shit, again?" Cream asks

"…I guess so" Espio answers

Cream and Espio look at Tails for his answer.

"Alright, I'm in." The Fox says

Cream smiles and Espio extends his hand to Tails to shake. The fox looks at this then decides to shake his hand. The three get ready to eave and look around for the last emerald.

"So, how did you get those emeralds?" Tails asks Cream

"How else? I swiped one of Shadow and Cheese found this in a cave" The Rabbit responds.

"Oh, good girl gone bad. Hot" Tails says

"What?"

"Huh? What's that, Espio? I'll be right there, buddy!" Tails says, getting away from Cream smiling.

"Whatever, fox boy" Cream says, cracking a smile and packing her bag up.

**Well, there you have it, chapter 3. what's next for our band of misfits? Read on to find out, and don't forget to review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait, I have lots of things going on in my life school wise. Here's chapter 4. I hope I won't take a long time to update next time and in the future, but as I said school takes it's toll. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4: The Search **

Tails, Cream and their already stumbling drunk Friend Espio leave the abandoned factory and into the city in search of the last Chaos Emerald. The fox makes small talk with Cream and tries not to bring up any parts of their less than notable past. Espio stays behind the two and drinks his liquor while trying to conceal it from police or anyone who would call to report his public drinking. The group gets downtown and decide to split up at this point to look in separate areas of the city. Tails goes north east, Cream to the west and the purple Chameleon goes south. During his search, Espio runs out of liquor so when he knows Cream and Tails aren't around, he slips into a bar to pick up some more. Cream and Cheese hit the sky and look from rooftops just to make the search easier but they find nothing while Tails leaves Two Gates and to the highway he took into town. He looks around small ponds and trails but it isn't until he reaches a small cave like stone ruin that his day starts to get better.

The fox carefully climbs down a dirt hill that leads into the large stone area, hoping this will be the place he finds the last chaos emerald. As day turns into night, Cream and Cheese call it a night while Espio is socializing at "The Lucky Clover" with a few friendly faces he met some time ago. Tails stumbles down into the dark cave and takes out his phone to switch on a bright blue LED light to make his way further in. He spots something bright Orange glowing in a corner so he runs over to grab it.

"Gotcha you son of a-"

Tails cuts himself off when he realizes that he just pulled the emerald from the big paws of an even bigger brown Bear sleeping. The grizzly sits up only to see a light flash in his face and the Fox standing next to him with the chaos emerald. Tails wastes no time speeding off out of the cave and where he came from but this bear chases him through the grassy woodland and onto the highway road. The fox uses his tails to make his way above the bear.

"Haha!" Tails yells, but he is again cut off as the bear grabs a hold of his pant leg "No! let me go!"

Cream looks around Two Gates for Tails and Espio but she can't find either of them so she tries the next best thing; looking in the windows of bars and clubs for Espio. By 9 o'clock she is able to see the Chameleon knocking a few drinks back with some other animals and watching a football game on a big flat screen TV. The Rabbit gets into the bar and makes her way to Espio, pushing past everyone in her. She walks up to him while he is talking to a waitress.

"So you gave up, too?" Cream says, putting her backpack down

"Oh, is this your girlfriend, Espio?" The Waitress asks, stepping back from the Chameleon.

"What? No, she's a friend. To answer your question, yes I gave up a long time ago. Where's the Fox?" Espio asks

"You tell me" Cream retorts "I swear, that guy just likes to piss everyone off for fun. I bet he's out relaxing in some hotel making us look around this city"

The grizzly bear digs it's claws into Tails body, causing blood to run from his wounds and this puts Tails in panic mode. He lashes out at the bear, hitting him with dozens of elbows and punches. Then, it's the bear on the retreat back to his cave and Tails stands up to catch his breath.

"Yeah, you'd better run, man! punk ass.."

Around 11 pm Tails makes his way into the abandoned factory but his friends aren't around so he throws his stuff on the burnt up concrete floor and sits in a chair. He lifts his shirt to inspect the wound and sees a big scratch going across his stomach. He hears two voices getting closer so he grabs his backpack and goes to meet them outside.

"Where the hell have you been?" Cream yells to the fox

"Don't even start with me, tonight.." Tails says

Just as the Fox walks to Cream and Espio, an older man's voice yells to them

"Hey!" it's a security guard

"Shit, take off!" Espio says

The three run in different directions but the large wolf in a security suit chases Cream, that is until she flies into the sky. The guard stops and swears at them while Tails and Cream meet up in the downtown streets later that night. They walk around until a large park comes up so they stop at a bench under a street light and talk.

"So, know any other places we can crash for the night? I'm tired as hell" Tails says

"We can try the homeless shelter-"

"No, I ain't staying in a homeless shelter, Cream"

"Then where else, smart ass?"

Tails didn't respond, so the two sat in silence and watched others walk through the park either in groups or as a couple. Cream paid attention to a boy and girl hedgehog that resembled Sonic and Amy. Tails eyes were laid on the Rabbit, everything about her seemed to shine with beauty. He knew that if he told her how he feels about her she would just get mad at him again so he decided to keep his mouth shut. When Cream turned around she noticed The Fox's eyes on her.

"What?" Cream asks

Tails froze for a second, then thought _Screw it_

"You look incredible tonight-"

"Tails, we're 'friends' right now, lets just...just keep it that way.."

"I know but I'm just saying.

"If you need a place to stay.." a voice said, causing Tails and Cream to jump out of their seats. Espio reappeared sitting next to Tails on the bench "I have a friend who wouldn't mind letting us stay"

"Jesus you scared me, Chameleon!" Tails says as he sits down

"Who, your waitress girlfriend?" Cream asks

"Whoa, when did that happen?" Tails asks

"She's not my girlfriend, but yes the girl you saw earlier would let us stay the night"

"Then lets get moving, boys. It's getting cold out and I'm tired" Cream exclaims, grabbing her backpack and stands up

As the three walked through the neon light streets, Tails explains how he got his clothes bloody and reveals the last Chaos emerald. Cream doesn't stop her jokes about him and Espio continues to drink. It feels like 2 nights outside as they walk across the large city, looking at all the lights that brighten this city all night. while walking, Cream's hand grasps Tails for a second and the fox glances at her. She's shivering, so he takes off his jacket and offers it to her. Espio laughs to himself then takes another drink and walks ahead. Finally they reach Espios' friends house and Cream and Tails wait by the road while Espio goes up a flight of stairs to a doorbell.

"Cold out, huh?' Tails asks

"No shit.." Cream answers looking away from the fox

"Hope we get stay here the night. I haven't slept in a bad in so long"

Espio signals to the Rabbit and Fox to follow him up into the house. Cream walks through the doorway first and hands Tails' jacket to him. She looks at the interior amazed at how big it is. Espio and his friend stand in front of Tails and Cream.

"Guys, this is Grace. Grace, this is my friend Cream the Rabbit and my idiot buddy Miles Prower" Espio says introducing the three.

"Haha, very funny" Tails says "I'm actually very smart when it comes to technology and mechanics. And I prefer to be called Tails"

"We met earlier in the bar. I think you were working and asked if I was Espio's girlfriend? I can't exactly remember…" Cream says

"Right. Well, come in and make yourselves comfy. My three brothers live here so there aren't any other rooms available, I hope couches are okay with you guys" Grace says

"That's fine. Anything's better than where we were. Thank you for letting us stay tonight" Tails says

Cream pushes past him and into the living room where large couches are laid out so she can get to rest. She looks at the clock. 2:49 am. Espio took the largest couch first and left Tails and Cream staring at the next couch.

"Well, it looks like there's only one couch left. Looks like we have to share I guess.." Tails says

Cream jumps onto the couch and wraps herself in a blanket.

"You get the floor, fox boy" Cream says

"Fine, be like that" Tails says

Tails lays a blanket on the floor, takes a pillow from Espio's couch and uses this as a bed. He finds a down comforter, takes off his beanie and then tries to go to sleep.

"Hey, Tails.." Cream says, the Foxes ears go up "Thanks for lending me your jacket earlier"

The next day Espio is the first to get up so he goes to talk to Grace and when he leaves Tails jumps on the couch the Chameleon slept on and falls asleep. At noon the fox and rabbit wake up and tell Espio they want to leave. The group leaves and head to the library downtown. They sit at a table on the top floor way in the back so they can talk about the chaos emeralds.

"So we've had these with us for a day and we've done jack shit with them. Please tell me why I should stick around now?" Espio says

"Remember what we were doing a few months ago with our old teams? Nothing. You've seen the crime in this city, not just to kids our age, but to young kids in pre school and the elderly. We can help stop these creeps who think they run this place. But I need to know I can count on you guys" Cream says, looking Tails and Espio in the eyes "So lets put our shit behind us and do this. A new team, the three of us. are you guys in?"

"Yeah, I'm in" Tails says

"You damn kids know how to talk a man into anything. Yeah, I'll stick with you" Espio replies

Tails extends his hand to Espio and the purple Chameleon shakes. Cream smiles and the three walk around town again. Sensing they need some time alone, Espio takes off down into a dark road and leaves Tails with Cream.

"So, you're really committed to the idea of helping this place out, huh?" Tails starts off

'Yes, I am. I have been since I got here, and that night when attacked just made up my mind. I had to help somehow. Speaking of that night, nice save there, Fox boy" Cream says, chuckling.

"Hey, I'm not a super ninja okay? And there were 3 of them, what'd you expect?' Tails replies

The two enter the same park they were in earlier and walk around, looking at the rainbow of colours around them. They get back to the streets and continue their conversation. Cream starts talking about when they used to live back in Station Square, then she asks Tails about the night she rejected him.

"So, that night you asked me out..did you actually mean all that stuff about really liking me? or.."

Cream stops a wall and looks Tails in the eyes. He stands in front of her and looks into her eyes.

"Cream, I meant all of it. I know you said you wanted to stay friends but I just want you to know I really do care for you and always will" Tails answers

"Do you still feel the same way? Even after all that crap I said to you?"

The Fox reaches up and gently caresses Creams long ears and stands closer to her, letting others walk past them.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't lie to you or anybody about. And it's easy to tell when I like a girl"

Cream puts her hand on Tails' right arm and he grabs her hand into his hand. The fox and Rabbit don't lose eye contact while they slowly begin to hold hands. Something gets at the Rabbit and soon she doesn't want to stay here with Tails. Cream closes her eyes, looks away from the Fox and lets go of his hands.

"What's wrong?" Tails asks

"Nothing" The fox tries to talk to her as she walks away but he gets cut off "Lets just get back to Graces'"

Tails didn't question her after that because he knew something was definitely wrong. He got mad at himself and thought a lot during the walk back.

_God damnit…What did I do this time? _

The two arrived at Graces' house without Espio but she tells them he stopped by earlier and said he wanted some time to himself. Cream laid on the big couch while Tails was cramped up on the small couch. He looked at Cream to see if she would talk but she was already fast asleep so he just closed his eyes and did the same.

**Somebody's having some problems… don't forget to R&R and look out for chapter 5! Until then, later… **__


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's Chapter 5. Feedback and Reviews are important to me! Other than that, Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Foundation Of a Team**

The next morning Tails thought about asking Cream about what went down last night, but he knew this would only cause more problems so he kept his distance. Around noon Espio came back to Grace's house to find the Fox and Rabbit having a conversation with the Chameleon's friend. As soon as he walked through the door, Tails got up and pulled Espio out of the living room and into the backyard. Cream knew what he was going to talk about so she decided to talk to Grace about last night. Tails and Espio walked through the large house, past one of Grace's brother's rooms and finally to the back door.

"What's this about?" Espio asks, the smell of liquor coming from his mouth as he speaks "I was just out there, Miles. Why are you dragging me out there again?"

"Dude, you really gotta control your drinking, I can smell the booze on ya from 20 feet away.." Tails answers as he opens the back door. The two step onto the porch and look out at the rainy grey sky "It's about Cream-"

"Let me stop you right there. Listen kid, I don't give advice, especially not on girls or relationships so whatever you're gonna tell me-"

"Come on, just hear me out.."

Espio leans on the dark purple wooden railing, wiping water off and sighs "Fine…what's up?"

Back in the house, Cream tells Grace about how Tails approached her and they talked in the middle of the street the night before.

"I think you should give him a chance, he seems like a good kid" Grace says, taking a drink from her glass mug

"I want to but, he's messed with me before and I..I guess I don't want to get hurt again, you know?"

"I've been there before.. well, it's all up to you, and I know you'll make the right choice in the end"

The Rabbit nods and sits back on the couch thinking about her friends words. On the porch, Espio nods his head and listens to Tails' story.

"Hmm.. shit, I don't know what to tell ya.. I've never been in this situation" Espio looks at the floor thinking "I guess just keep things where they stand right now, don't rush into anything just yet and maybe wait for her to come to you..? I don't, I'm not good at giving advice, Tails.."

"Wow, that was actually…pretty good stuff" Tails leans on the wet railing and looks at the sky "Thanks, Espio"

"Just don't ask me for more advice cause I suck at that… you kids still have those Chaos emeralds right?" The Chameleon asks

"Yeah, they're inside"

Cream stands up and looks at Grace "I'm gonna go talk to him, and sort some things out"

Just as Espio and Tails walk in, massive amounts of police sirens and gun shots sound out from the city causing everyone to jump in surprise.

"Grace, lock the doors and get downstairs. Guys, we're gonna need those Chaos Emeralds now, we have work to do" Espio picks up his bag and rushes out the front door.

Tails stops and sees Cream staring into his eyes "What's wrong?" The fox asks

"Nothing, lets uh, lets get going"

The three pack up their bags, take a few Chaos Emeralds and head out into the city to see what is going on. Tails notices Cream trying not to make eye contact with him while Espio takes one last sip of his bottle for courage. The fox and Rabbit take flight into the cloudy sky while Espio rushes around on the ground, watching for any danger. They reach downtown but see no one around for blocks, only the sounds of sirens and gun shots in every direction.

"I'll take north, you two stay together" Espio orders as he races away from the Fox and Rabbit

Tails tries to yell something to The Chameleon but he is cut off "Just go, damnit! And keep your heads down!"

Tails turns to Cream and pulls out his beanie from his back pack "Alright, so where to first?"

A man yells for help close by so Cream races off towards the sound of his voice to help, leaving Tails in the middle of the street.

"Alright, left it is" The fox puts his Beanie on and follows the Rabbit.

The sound of punches hitting flesh gets louder as Cream runs down back alleys and small streets, wanting to help stop the attack. Tails flies above buildings to see where The Rabbit went off, then he sees her. The Fox looks ahead to see a gang of purple bandana wearing thugs beating one blood covered Raccoon to a pulp.

Cream takes out two Chaos emeralds and raises them above her head which causes them to release energy into her. She runs head on into the gang and with lightning speed she starts her assault. Tails watches from a rooftop as the rabbit throws punches and kicks everywhere, knocking down all the gang members. The leader stands up and pulls out a pistol.

"Who the hell is this little girl?!" The leader takes aim at Cream, but Tails lands behind him and knocks the gun away.

The gang member turns around and punches at Tails but the fox ducks and grabs him by the shirt and flies 15 feet up. Tails drops the leader to the ground, knocking him out. The other gang members run in different directions, leaving Tails, Cream and The bloody gang member.

The Raccoon gets to one knee, looks up at Tails but then stares at Cream. She looks at him and goes to help him up but she is startled by footsteps coming towards the three. Espio appears in front of them and when Cream turns to the Raccoon, he is already half way down the block.

"I leave you two alone for 5 minutes and you save a gang member from his death?" Espio says, pulling out another bottle of liquor and drinking it

"What?" Cream asks "How the hell do you know-"

"That's the same guy who helped mug you the night me and Miles showed up to save you. my guess is his old gang was here to put him down" The Chameleon walks past Tails and picks up the pistol.

"He's the one who walked away when the leader tried to rape me." Cream says

"So? He's still a low life thug to me" Espio takes the magazine out of the pistol and lets the bullets drop to the ground "Now lets keep moving, cops will be crawling all over in a few minutes"

The Chameleon races off again and Tails waits for Cream to join him. she looks at the ground with a strange look on her face.

"You okay?" Tails asks

"Yeah.." Cream answers

"Alright, lets get going"

It seems like every corner they turn, Tails, Espio and Cream are faced with guys with guns or a small gang causing havoc on the street. With the power of all 7 Chaos emeralds the three are able to fight the gangs and trigger happy gun slingers for hours. Soon day turns into night and the fight continues on as the Fox, Rabbit and Chameleon still take down dozens of street punks. Just when it seems like it's over, more gun shots sound out on another side of town. Tails starts to wonder where the police are in this city because the whole night they've only seen two cop cars racing around town.

Finally, just after midnight every criminal is either beat down or chased away, giving the group of misfits a chance to rest. Espio sits on a park bench and starts to drink while Cream sits on the opposite side on the wooden bench and puts her head on the table top. Tails falls to the ground in exhaustion and lies on the grass.

"Christ.. how come I'm dead tired now? I thought we were supposed to be like, invincible with the emeralds?" Tails asks, looking up into the dark sky.

"They give you energy for a short period of time, not hours. The fact we all held up for this long…man I don't even know how we did" Espio says, talking between drinks

"I don't know what you guys are complaining about, I feel fine" Cream puts her head up and looks at Espio.

'Maybe you've got a special ability. Durability or unlimited energy boost" Espio says

"Whoa, how come I don't have a special ability?" Tails asks

"You might, come here a second" Cream looks at Tails as he stands up and walks to her. She punches him in the stomach and he yelps in pain.

"Well, you're obviously not invincible" Cream laughs while Tails catches his breath

"No shit!.." Tails coughs and backs up.

"Now, now kids…hey, I got a question for you guys. who feels like spending the night at a motel?" Espio asks, pulling out a wad of 20 dollar bills and two other wallets

"Did you steal from people earlier?!" Cream asks

"Hey, I never claimed to be a saint. Now lets get a nice two room suite before the cops show" Espio stands up and leads the way. Cream follows and Tails is slow to join.

The three walk through the silent streets of Two gates on their way to a motel on the opposite side of town. Tails is far behind Cream and Espio, who occasionally wait for him to catch up. Finally, by 2:30 in the morning they reach the motel.

"I got this, just let me do the talking and we'll be inside in no time" Tails takes some money from Espio and walks in first.

Tails walks up to a tall Hedgehog reading a book and looks at him, expecting a greeting but it stay silent. Cream angrily slams down a small bell to get this hedgehogs attention. Tails gives her a dirty look, but quickly turns to face the hedgehog.

"Yeah?" The hedgehog says, putting his book down

"Nice to meet you too, look man we're in need of a two room suite, can you hook me up?" Tails asks

"Nothings free in this world, kid.." The hedgehog says, hinting at a large payment

Tails hands the hedgehog 40 dollars and looks up at him "The room is 80 bucks a night, so cough it up"

"Of course" Tails looks at Espio for more money, making the Chameleon reach into his pockets for more.

"You their baby sitter?" The hedgehog asks sarcastically

"More like Chaperone" Espio replies

The hedgehog takes a key off a wall and hands it to Tails "More like third wheel"

Tails pulls an angry Espio down the hall with him and Cream "Easy, man. we'll get him back some other time"

The three enter their room and find the first room as well as a small kitchen and another room t the back. Cream takes the back room and sets her stuff on a bed while Tails sits on a chair in the first room.

"Out. this is my room" Espio says

Tails looks into Cream's room and sees two beds "Any chance of us sharing a room?"

"Think again, fox" Cream calls back from her room.

"Where am I gonna sleep, huh? The floor?"

"It's better than the street isn't it?" Espio replies, pushing Tails into a very small hallway separating the two rooms. He slams the door and leaves Tails by himself. The fox huddles in a corner and closes his eyes. Just before he falls asleep, Creams door opens.

"Get in here.."

Tails gets to his feet and walks into the room. The lights are off but he can see enough to find the other bed beside Cream's. She sits on her bed and looks at Tails.

"Shut up and go to sleep. And hands to yourself. If I feel you near me I will kick your ass" Cream says as she lies down.

"Agreed"

"Goodnight"

"Night'

The Fox and Rabbit wouldn't get much sleep as they are kept up by loud rock music in Espio's room.

"God Damnit.." Tails says

"What?"

"Ninjas hardly ever sleep, especially drunk ones…"

Over in Espio's room, the chameleon is unloading a couple cases of liquor onto a night stand and has his alarm clock radio cranked up to full volume on the Classic Rock station. He sits back and turns the volume up louder when his favorite song comes on.

"Liquor and Led Zeppelin.. my two favorite things.."

**Hope you liked this chapter.. my bad about the very late update, had some things going on here and there. But from on out no more of that. Keep reading and hit that review button! Until the next Chapter, peace…**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back with another chapter for ya's.. I'd like to hear what you guys think of this Fic, so hit up that review button and tell me! that's all from me, enjoy this and the upcoming chapters**

**Chapter 6: Naming the team **

From the night they took refuge in the small, run down motel all the way to the present night, Tails, Cream and Espio have not stopped on their mission to stop the under world of crime. Tails and Cream regularly patrol the streets at night in the sky, looking for trouble while The Chameleon stands alone, checking up on various bars around town and getting a few drinks here and there. One night on his beer run, a fight breaks out between him and a group of street fighters.

"Come on, guys.. we all came here to drink, why do we gotta fight?" Espio asks sarcastically while drinking a large bottle of liquor

"Shut up, Chameleon" A large polar bear shouts, pushing Espio against a wall, causing everyone to stop talking and look on "I warned you not to come back here, not after you stole my buddies wallet!"

"Hey, it was for a good cause.. and I paid him back anyway!" Espio says, pushing the polar bear back.

"I guess me and my boys have to teach you a lesson, freak!"

Espio moves out of the way of an incoming punch and watches as the polar bear punches the wall. His friends circle The Chameleon so Espio decides to clear some space by throwing the bear around the room. One by one his friends fly back, hitting other people. Espio picks up the bear and holds his fist above his head while staring at the bear.

"I didn't wanna do that.." Espio drops the bear and looks around "Anyone else wanna try it while I'm still sober?"

Tails and Cream make their way down the same street the bar is on and make small talk to pass the time.

"So what do you think Espio is up to right now?" Cream looks down at her phone

"Ah, you know him. He's probably at some bar drinking away or trying to pick up another girl.." Tails looks up at the sky

The sound of glass shattering makes the fox and rabbit jump back and look around to find where this just happened. Tails races down the street to the bar and finds his friend lying on his back on the sidewalk.

"You okay?" Tails asks

"Just fine.." Espio takes one more drink of his bottle then tosses it away

"Need backup?"

"Nah. They're just drunks trying to look tough. I got this. Go talk to her, kid" Espio gets to his feet and pushes Tails out of the way of an oncoming punch.

The Fox steps back and stops Cream "He said he's got this"

"But he's out numbered-"

"Lets not bother him, or he'll start laying the boots to us"

"Alright, if you say so"

Once Tails and Cream leave the area, Espio starts knocking these drunks' heads around the street even worse than before. One by one every guy from the bar fills the street to get a piece of The Chameleon. Espio seems to kick in every direction at super sonic speed, knocking back everyone who steps up to him. This attracts the attention of an under ground fighting scout who is the only one in the bar still drinking. He watches with a grin as Espio continues to beat down his clueless opponents. Once the Chameleon has taken down all of the fighters, the fight scout comes outside and walks up to him, causing Espio to get in his stance again.

'Whoa, there tough guy. I'm not here to fight, but make you an offer to make you rich" The Scout says "You know about the under ground fighting game, right? Elite fighters from all over Mobius come here to see who is the toughest, and makes thousands of dollars, if they win. You would be a perfect addition to our community, friend. Would do ya say?" The Scout extends his hand to the Chameleon.

"Names, uh.. Sky, friend. And I say sign me up" Espio shakes the scouts hand, bringing a smile to this guys' face.

"Great. Show up to this same bar tomorrow night and we'll bring you to the first of many arenas. Until then, watch yourself on these streets"

Espio nods and walks away from the guy, stopping to pick up a bottle from the hands of one of the drunks left on the sidewalk. Espio takes sips from his bottle and after a long walk, he reaches the "greasy" motel. The chameleon stares at the tall hedgehog as he walks by, not taking his eye off him. he finally leaves and goes down a hallway towards his rented room. He walks in the doorway and then into Cream/Tails' room.

"So I found out I have super speed when I'm fighting, guys" Tails and Cream jump out of their seats quickly "Oh, my bad, did I interrupt something?" Espio asks, stopping at the door.

"No, we were just… talking. Are you okay?" Cream asks

"Never better, kid.." Espio says, turning around.

Cream notices some blood on his back so she stands up and stops him. She lifts up his shirt and three giant gashes pop up with blood still coming from them.

"Oh Jesus, Espio! you're bleeding bad!" Cream goes into her bathroom and grabs a paper towel to cover his wounds.

"Shit eh. Didn't notice those. I can't feel anything back there" Espio holds the paper towels on his back.

"Come in the bathroom, I'll sterilize those" Cream says, pulling Espio into the bathroom and leaving Tails alone.

Tails can hear the two trying to talk quietly in the bathroom so he ignores them and opens his back pack. He pulls out his Chaos emeralds and holds them in front of his face, staring into the glowing emeralds intently.

_Why don't I have any special ability yet? This is bullsh-_

"So we've been kicking the crap out of this city's bad guys as a team. Maybe we should give that team a name, you k now?" Cream walks in, and Tails looks up at her.

"Alright then, lay a name on us, captain" Tails puts his emeralds back in his back pack.

"I don't, I'm just saying we should name ourselves. It would be kinda cool" Cream sits next to Tails

"How about Rush?' Espio walks in the room next with a beer bottle.

"Isn't that a band?" Tails asks

"I don't know. Do you have any ideas, Prower?" Espio puts his bottle down.

"What about 'Skyline'? That has a nice ring to it" Tails looks at Cream for an answer

"Where did you think of that? Cause that sounds like a wicked name" Cream looks Tails in the eyes

"I don't know, just thought of it"

"So, we're now officially 'Team Skyline' But how do we get our name out there?" Cream stands up and looks out her window.

"I can go out and tag a few buildings, I picked up some spray paint today" Tails offers

"Some fighting scout signed me up for an underground fight club. I can spread word to watch out for those guys and nobody would guess I'm in it" Espio takes another drink

"Lets do this, then. Tails, you're up first tonight. Tag the factories, warehouses..anywhere you think thugs would hang out" Cream orders

The Fox puts on his beanie and grabs his stuff, ready to hit the streets while Espio and Cream sit and relax in the motel. Within 2 hours cop sirens are blaring all around town and a helicopter is in the sky with it's light searching the city. Tails walks in the room and sits down.

"What did you do out there, Prower?" Espio asks

Tails picks up a remote and switches on a small T.V to the news channel.

"..Breaking news in Two Gates, a vandal has struck, spray painting several abandoned factories, demolished buildings, Gore road elementary school and even the streets with only one word "SKYLINE" the origin of this vandal or the word spray painted is unknown. Police have also brought in 8 members of one of the many local street gangs and whether the vandal has anything to do with this is under investigation. We'll keep you posted as this story continues.."

"I'm guessing that was you who took out those gang members, too" Cream says

"Well, it would have been more but I was running out of time so I just ran off after I was finished with one gang" Tails takes Espio's beer bottle from him but the chameleon snatches it back "One drink, come on!"

"You're under the legal drinking age.. and this is all I have for the night" Espio walks out of Cream's room and into his own.

"Good work out there, Tails. I'm going to sleep now so either do the same or go party with Espio" Cream kicks her shoes off and jumps into her bed.

"I'm tired anyway" Tails takes off his shirt and sits on his bed and Cream laughs "What?"

"You have purple and white all over your chest, genius" Cream pulls out her phone and takes a quick photo of the red faced fox.

"Haha, laugh it up.." Tails walks out of the room and into the bathroom. The shower starts while Cream slowly falls asleep. 

Espio has the classic rock station blaring in his room for hours on end to take away the boredom. He hardly sleeps, and when he does it's not for very long so he's almost always awake. Espio spends hours doing pushups, sit ups and goes outside to a metal bar and does chin ups from it. He lays down on his bed and sleeps for about an hour then gets up again to have a few drinks. Just after noon, the chameleon leaves the motel and goes off into the city.

Espio walks to the same bar he was at the day before and sees the windows are still broken, but the bar is still open. He takes a seat on a stool and a female fox sits next to him.

"Hey, baby. Want a drink?" Espio asks

Before the fox could say anything, her boyfriend walks up to her and looks at Espio "She's with me, freak"

"Do you know how many times I've heard that now? Come up with something new, pal.." Espio takes a sip from his bottle and turns around to see Sleuth dogg staring at him.

"You're lucky we're in a hurry or I'd break that horn off your head, chameleon. Lets go, Phoenix.." Sleuth walks out the door, while his girl Phoenix waves goodbye to Espio and follows him.

"Hey, Sky! Over here.." it's the fighting scout "A but earlier to be hitting back the booze, don't ya think?"

"It's never too early for me"

"Whatever floats your boat. Come on, I'll show ya the downtown arena"

Espio gets in a black SUV with the fighting scout and takes a ride around town until they reach an old pizza store. They walk in the grungy building, to the back of the store and to a cellar. The two walk down the dark steps and reach a barb and razor wire fence that has a pad lock to it. The scout take out his key and opens the fence. After a long walk down dark tunnels, the two reach a large room with a small fence making a square in the middle. Lights go on and one by one crowd members circle around the fenced square.

"This is an old parking garage that was closed because too many people were being robbed" The scout cracks a smile "Perfect place for some great fights. That is the fight pen. Only two are allowed in before and during the fight. We send two of our guys in to clean up the mess they leave. Welcome to the underground fight club"

"Who's first?" Espio walks into the fight pen and cracks his knuckles

"You heard him, boys! Who's it gonna be?" The scout backs up and nods at someone at a DJ table. Rap music starts playing and everyone starts cheering.

A large polar bear pushes past some of the crowd and roars loudly at Espio. The chameleon grins and waits for the bear to enter the pen. Espio stands his ground as the polar bear gets in the pen and in his face.

The steel fence door slams shut and it's time to fight.


End file.
